Gingerbread Contest: Part 1
Stephanie Webster
The phrase that keeps going through my head as I painstakingly roll out sheets of fondant to recreate wood siding for the CTbites entry in the Stamford Museum's Gingerbread Exhibit is "What was I thinking?" I'm a professional eater, not a professional baker. Knee deep in food dye and frosting, I am so far out of my element, I could be in another country. Obstacles aside, team CTbites is up for the challenge, and driven by the desire to raise money for Stamford Museum's educational programs, we embrace our inner cake decorator. (And thank you Michele Klem of CakeSuite for not screening my distress calls.)
Day 1:
After a 1 hour planning session with our staff baker and contributor Deanna Foster and our own Chef Nicole, we decide to go with a local CT farm stand theme. Fruit, veggies, grass…with the added bonus of a structure that only requires three walls. How hard could this be?
Suddenly grateful for my brief foray into architecture school, we construct a paper model, and go home to bake us some walls. That night I dream of royal icing and catastrophic gingerbread failure.
Day 2:
The next day we begin laying the foundation with the tough realization that our gingerbread may be too thin and the farm stand may not hold. We decide to closet this thought for later and instead carry on with the task at hand. Chef Nicole and I shingle our roof with Golden Graham Cereal (keeps the rain out…and it's tasty), while Deanna layers our walls with the above mentioned fondant wood siding (a substance I had never touched until today). Table cloths are painted, tables collapse…children run to get their nursery blocks out for reinforcement. Again…that phrase…"What was I thinking??"
Stay tuned for Part 2 where we find out if the roof will hold up under the weight of its layer of crunchy (and surprisingly heavy) breakfast cereal.
Follow this link for more information on The Stamford Museum's "Visions of Gingerbread: The Sweetest Architects" exhibit.
Reader Comments (5)
I am in awe of both Stephanie and Deanna. While I may know my way around the kitchen, I must admit that I was having heart palpatations while trying to make straight roof shingles out of pieces of cereal.
I couldn't get over all of the teensy weensy little bits of fruit that Stephanie made! I felt like a bull in a china shop yesterday!!
I once again realize the many differences between those who like to cook and those who like to bake, in a nutshell, right brain vs. left brain.
I have total faith in you guys . onward ctbites soldiers! Ye shall conquer!
I'll keep my fingers crossed!
I can't wait to see what you all come up with! It sounded fantastic on Tuesday and I'm so excited to see the progress!
You've made GREAT headway since the drawings that I saw. And the pumpkins look yummy! Can't wait for the marzipan!
It looks great so far! You are much further along than I!!